Washington Black

Washington Black introduces a very complex character. Born of a “Gulliver Like” fantasy, Wash pursues a narrative trail that provokes many questions. How did plantation owners reconcile their brutal treatment of slaves with their moral upbringing? How are we to reconcile Titch’s acceptance of his family’s plantation operation with his role as an abolitionist? What does it feel like to be transferred from one family, i.e., from Big Kit? and then abandoned the second, i.e., by Titch? Is John Willard primarily a device for sustaining the slavery state in Wash’s mind? Are we to understand from Wash’s story that acculturation without social acceptance is futile and harmful?  Why does Wash need to pursue Titch? To what extent does survivor or imposter guilt underlie his pursuit? And what does Wash conclude following his meeting with Titch in Morocco? And how does that serve the novel’s purpose? Is it to illustrate that the road to freedom for African American slaves is a very complex one? Are we to understand that the barriers to freedom are as much personal as systemic?

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